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Sunday, 26 February 2017

Mostly new painting but also some renovation of older figures from the class of 2001. There has been a mix of gun crews, commanders and rank-and-file militia.

Below is the output so far, awaiting basing. Most of these will be used for the 300 or so troops defending the rebel right flank in Charlestown.

A close up on militia gunners. These will operate a 3-pounder section:

Command stands. The chap with the "Liberty" glad still needs his pole and finial finishing off. The flags in these cases are hand painted but I'm sure GMB do some great alternatives. The command figures include some repurposed uniformed chaps. I've simply painted them in drab colours and made lapels and cuffs the same colour as the rest of the jacket. There's a lot of colours here that are more often seen on WW2 figures, such as german cammo beige.

Lastly, another flag on the go. There's not much to go on regarding rebel flags at Bunker Hill and possibly none were flown at all. If they were then red seems the most likely colour and the pine tree emblem might have featured. Red is also a good "rebel" colour and fielding an army with no flags seems a bit dull.

I'm experimenting with these flags. They are paper like usual but with a core of kitchen foil. I'm not sure this adds much but they do seem to fold a bit more easily and hold their shape a little better.

Terrain-wise the beach sections are about done and next weekend I might get the opportunity to clear the table and set everything up for the first time to get a feel for what still might be missing.

See you next week.

Don't forget the Hammerhead show in Newark, Notts next Saturday (4th). Not sure if I'll make it yet - I might be busy clearing the garage and table!

Saturday, 18 February 2017

This week I have been on leave from work, for the half-term holidays.
This has helped a little with my productivity and I have managed to finish off the British army for my Bunker Hill/Breed's Hill project:

Here is the entire force. Howe's right wing on the top shelf, then Pigot's left wing and finally the reserve forces under Clinton:

A close up of Howe's wing. Grenadiers, Light infantry and the 5th & 52nd regiments. The artillery are out of shot.
The command base for Howe himself is hidden at the back.

Then we have Robert Pigot of the yellow facings of the 38th with the left wing of the British army.
There is the 1st battalion of marines, three line battalions (38th, 43rd and 47th) and a "flank battalion" of the grenadiers & light infantry of the 35th, 63rd and 2nd Marines. Pigot is assisted by a second command base featuring Major Pitcairn of the Marines. Pigot himself was a Brigadier General but I opted not to put him in the blue facings of a staff officer. I may reconsider this.

Lastly, General Clinton and the reserve of the 63rd Foot and the 2nd Marines. Historically they landed quite late so weren't involved in storming the hill but played a role in mopping-up afterwards as the rebels retreated across Charleston neck.

The command vignettes feature a few conversions, achieved by taking the arms of various Foundry command figures (mostly standard-bearers) and replacing them with plastic ones from the Perry AWI British plastic command sprue. The exception is Pitcairn who is an Old Glory figure for now, but might get replaced by a conversion in the future.

Last week I also did some work on the artillery to make the carriages a little less blue and a bit more light grey. This was actually easier than I thought it might be, as highlighting with vallejo Light Grey seemed to do the trick without any major repainting. It has a slightly blue tinge to it anyway.

The model of Breed's Hill is now finished and I have made a start on the beach sections that light infantry will use to try and outflank the rebel defenders. Once these are done I will get the whole lot onto the table and see how it all looks (expect pictures!). February means that terrain building is slow progress however while I wait for glue and plaster to dry...

On the painting table now are rebel figures for command vignettes, sharpshooters and gun crews in civilian dress.

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About Me

Member of the Newark Irregulars wargaming club since 1996, gaming since about 1984. I co-wrote the WAB supplement "The Age of Arthur" with my good friend James Morris. I'm interested in most wargaming periods but my favourites are AWI and Grand-tactical Napoleonics.
1 wife, 2 daughters, 2 guinea pigs.